A Well-Rounded Experience in Assessment, Intervention, & Supervision to Better Serve Families
Base running is not typically mentioned in relation to the clinical psychology training experience, unless the trainee happens to be a learner at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development. For Helen Root, Ph.D., who was part of the 2022-2023 class in Duke University Medical Center’s Clinical Psychology Doctoral Internship Program, rounding the bases was indeed a highlight of her time at Duke.
“I absolutely loved the Baseball Bonanza,” Root said. “It was so fun to see members of the community get to interact with the Duke Baseball team. I enjoyed getting to support autistic children, their siblings, and other family members to get the most out of the day. I most enjoyed getting to run the bases with a few kiddos!”
Root aspires to do a combination of autism assessment, treatment, and consultation in her future career. She feels that her time as an intern at Duke prepared her well. After completing her internship at Duke, she accepted a position as clinical postdoctoral psychology fellow at Weill Cornell’s Center for Autism and the Developing Brain associated with Cornell University. Root says she is utilizing all the skills that she gained as an intern.
“My time at the Duke Autism Clinic allowed me to build on my skills from graduate school while increasing my independence. I am now well equipped to diagnose autism, provide a diverse set of therapies to families, and work with the other members of their intervention teams to promote optimal outcomes and quality of life,” she said.
“My training at the Duke Autism Clinic rounded out my skills and allowed me to gain experience with a wide range of parent-coaching interventions, which I now use extensively during my fellowship. I also am using my assessment experience and continue to diagnose autism across a wide age range.”
Root also emphasized the importance of the supervisory experience she gained at the Duke. “I learned a lot from supervising graduate practicum students in the Duke Autism Clinic during both diagnostic evaluations and therapy. This helped me improve my supervision skills and will allow me to be a better mentor and supervisor in the future.” Root credits the supervision experience she gained at Duke with helping her to easily step into a supervisory role with the psychology technicians and research assistants at Weill Cornell.
Root felt well-supported by her own supervision while at Duke. “Dr. Jill Howard was one of the best supervisors I could ask for during my internship training. She went out of her way to make sure I was getting all the experiences that I had hoped for and had a good work-life balance. She set up opportunities for me to shadow other psychologists, including allowing me to gain experience in other types of clinics, such as those focused on Eating Disorders and ADHD. She allowed me to hone skills in areas that otherwise would not have accessible,” Root said.
A well-rounded training experience - including rounding the bases - a homerun!